


I Saw the Sign

by insomniac13



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-02
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-03-04 22:44:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3094745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insomniac13/pseuds/insomniac13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bonnie, hopelessly trapped in 1994, decides to make the most of it and take a trip to see the world, now that she has it to herself. As she sets out to the big city she finds things aren't quite what they seem in this Other Dimension, and the rules have changed, yet again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all and thank you for stumbling upon my little story!  
> I hope you enjoy it and please feel free to leave any comments or critiques below. I have a solid idea of where this story is going, but it is a WIP so fair warning. Thanks again for reading!  
> *Not beta'd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie tries to find the next step after being left behind in 1994 by Damon and Elena.

**Chapter 1**

**_Alone_ **

     So this is what hopelessness feels like. Surrounded by the concrete buildings of the old high school she had previously attended, the gym she'd been attacked in, surrounded by blood and death on multiple occasions during cliché formals, and the memories of her long gone best friends echoing around her. Her only light source is the fire growing before her, spreading through the dry branches of a sparsely decorated tree. Though the heat from the fire is hot on her face and legs, she feels a coldness that runs deep to her core that no warmth can penetrate.

     Tilting her head back, her short dark tresses graze her sharp chin, revealing dark empty eyes. She gazes at the twinkling stars and feels her face crumple in. Her hands fist in the threadbare flannel around her waist as her jaw clenches tight. She fights to swallow around the rising lump in her throat and takes in the burning pine one last time, breathing in slow and deep. She turns her back on the crackling tree, the high school gym, and the memories of a life that once was, and makes her way towards the glistening Camaro waiting to take her away from it all. The chill from the asphalt seeps through the soles of her rugged boots and she pulls the worn leather jacket tighter around her as she slinks behind the wheel of the closest thing she has to a home now. She slips in the key and lets out a shaky breath as she realizes she has nowhere to go. Her head bounces against the hard plastic of the wheel as she again feels tears run hot down her cheeks.  _What am I going to do now? Where were you all when I needed you? Where are you now?_

     She cries until the high flames of the mocking Christmas tree smolder and the embers fade out. The ashes float on the air and swirl around, agitated by a faint breeze. The sun has begun to lighten the sky and she allows the soft blues, subtle pinks and gold’s to wash over her. She feels a weight slowly lift off her shoulders as she comes to a decision. She has the whole world to herself, and she isn't going to sit and wallow anymore. The world outside of this retro prison had failed her, again. It's finally time to start thinking about what she wants. The young woman resolutely reaches into the glove compartment beside her and pulls out a folded bunch. The wrinkled and faded map sends up a flurry of dust and she coughs slightly as she traces lines across the parchment until her finger stills.

    "Perfect." She taps the decided upon location once, nodding to herself and grins. Exhaling softly, she sets the map on the seat next to her, pulls on her seat belt and cranks the engine to life. She roars out onto the street and rolls down the window letting in the fresh air. The first strains of Salt-N-Pepa trickle out the speakers when she leans over to turn up the volume. Taping her fingers along to the beat she steers herself over towards the boarding house. There are a few things Bonnie Bennett needs to pick up first, and then it's a one way ticket to the city that never sleeps, away from her past and places haunted by the happenings of Mystic Falls and hopefully, towards finding her peace. 


	2. The Grimoire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double post bonus!

**Chapter 2**

**_The Grimoire_ **

     The Camaro jostles Bonnie slightly as she squints into the sun, now shining hotly just above the trees, and pulls into the looping driveway of the familiar Salvatore boarding house. She sits in the comfort of the car and contemplates the looming structure in front of her. She hasn’t been back to the residence in the few days since she realized she had somehow been left behind, stuck in 1994 alone. Bonnie's opted to stay at the Gilbert house, in Elena’s old room, trying to find what little comfort she can in the nostalgic surroundings. Staring at the house, Bonnie’s eyes focus in towards the small window just to the side of the entrance.

     Was that a movement she saw inside? _Come on girl, get a grip._ Shaking her head slightly, Bonnie gets out of the car and tentatively makes her way towards the house. Her heart starts to pick up pace in response to the flicker of hope now blossoming inside of her. All because of that tiny, impossible movement behind the window curtain. Bonnie steps onto the sheltered porch area and glances towards the translucent glass panes beside her. Licking her dry lips she turns towards the entrance and hesitates, one hand on the door the other hovering just above the weathered brass knob.

     “This is stupid Bonnie. There’s no one here, he’s not here. Just open the door.” She mutters to herself, silently cursing her heart when it continues pounding harder than ever, at the doors easy swing open. She knows she locked it out of habit before she left to meet Damon and Elena days earlier. Bonnie hurries the rest of the way inside, leaving the door open.

     “Damon? Elena?” she whispers, not daring to hope, but feeling it there anyway. The foyer of the house is quiet, the small table situated under an old painting still holds a folded note, left there in haste. Bonnie’s eyes quickly skirt over the familiar handwriting and continue on into the house, ears perked for any sound at all. She stops abruptly at the entry way of the parlor, breath leaving her in a harsh exhale, her stomach plunging down. The heavy velvet drapes are slashed to ribbons leaving the sunlight to filter weakly through. The rich leather furniture and worn Persian rugs are all in the same condition. She feels that little flare of hope stab painfully in her chest once before sizzling out completely.

 _Kai must have stopped by before his timely exit, nice._ As Bonnie steps further into the room to investigate she sees that a few tables have been overturned. Peering in further she notes the bottles of bourbon smashed to bits, and a small unassuming book shelf that's been torn completely apart. Every book has been thrown from the shelf, their pages ripped out and scattered throughout the room and, she sees peering down into the hallway, that a few pages have managed to drift that way as well.

     Bonnie continues down the long hallway and turns up the stairs near the end. When she reaches the top of the stairs she comes out at the beginning of the corridor leading to the library. She notices stray pages begin to litter the floor like bread crumbs guiding her to the room at the end. Bonnie steps lightly over the papers strewn around and towards the room entry way. She stops at the entrance and takes in the scene before her. The shelves lining the walls are in a similar disarray to the small book shelf she’d come across downstairs. Not a single book escaped notice, and all are torn apart. _Why would he do this? What were you up to Kai?_

     Bonnie continues through the house, which is surprisingly untouched. The only odd, out of place thing to her is the books. Every single book she comes across has been tossed aside carelessly, shredded. As a thought occurs to her she takes off for the room across from Damon’s, the one she’d been staying in before, and throws herself to the ground. Bonnie stretches her arm out underneath the bed and lets out a sigh of relief when her fingers brush against rough cardboard. She pulls the box into her lap and sits back on her heels, while blowing away the errant lock of hair that had fallen in front of her face. Bonnie lifts the lid of the box and feels another burst of relief at the sight of Grams’ untouched grimoire. The box also holds a couple of white chunky candles, a sharp tiny silver knife she’d found in the house bathroom _soap basket_ of all places, a few empty stoppered vials and one long onyx crows' feather. Also, sitting in the corner of the box, is something she’d found when they had first come to the boarding house. When the Other Side had just fallen, Damon and she had thought they were all alone together, stuck in this repetitive dimension. So they’d almost immediately come to seek the familiarity of the Salvatore mansion and spread out to look for anything that might help to escape this place.

     When Bonnie had been searching through the house room by room, she'd found herself opening the door to Stefan’s room. Bonnie had been surprised at the time to see that it hadn’t changed much since 1994 and had quickly scanned the shelves and drawers, convinced she wouldn’t find anything of value when she noticed the metal box on Stefan’s nightstand. She’d opened it up and saw that it was mostly filled with junk, odds and ends that people accumulate over time. But set on top, as if it had just been pulled out, had been a tiny wooden box. Bonnie had lifted up the small lid and discovered Elena’s necklace, the one Stefan had given to her to guard her from compulsion, empty now of the herb that had given it its protective qualities. The same necklace that Bonnie and her Grams’ had failed to destroy after finding out it had been Ester the Original witch’s talisman, heirloom and full of her immortal power. It was essentially indestructible. However Rebekah, Ester’s daughter, had hidden the necklace rendering its power useless. And there it had been, sitting in a carved wooden box in 1994, before all of this could occur years later.

     Bonnie had tried to ignore it for a while, but as the time went by and the bleakness of their situation had set in she would find herself more and more frequently locked away in her room clutching the talisman and staring down at the pages of Grams’ grimoire, trying desperately to get her magic back. She remembered Ester mentioning she had used the pendant to summon Bennett magic from the Other Side but it had never worked for Bonnie. Bonnie didn’t know what dimension the Gemini Coven had created but the same rules hadn’t applied here as they did the Other Side. The talisman was no help in recovering her magic but Bonnie had kept it in its little wooden box, shoved under her bed. She couldn’t bear the thought of it being lost forever. It felt like a link to Grams, and her heritage as a whole. Now Bonnie slips the pendant around her neck and lets it settle below the hollow of her throat, the cool silver warming to her skin. The power contained within feels like a steady thrum, and she's glad to have that small reassurance of strength as she puts the contents of the box away and carries it downstairs.

     Bonnie packs up the rest of her sparse belongings and carries them to the foyer. She straightens up and gives the room a casual once over as she stretches the tightness out of her back. Bonnie stills abruptly when she spots the old video camcorder wedged behind a vase of dying flowers on the small table where Damon’s note remains. She turns her back on both and grabs her few bags, shouldering her worn denim backpack on and striding out towards the Camaro. Popping the trunk, she dumps in her bags and shuffles them around the trunk’s tiny space to get the best fit. She continues to shove stuff around haphazardly until she can practically hear Damon’s chiding voice, ‘ _Are you done manhandling the luggage, Witch?’_ Bonnie lets out a single huff of laughter and straightens from the car, slamming the trunk shut. She goes back into the house, snatches up the camera and slides the note into her pocket, without a second thought. Bonnie pauses as she locks the front door for the last time. She raises a hand to the aged wood and the corners of her mouth quirk, “It’s been interesting.”

     She heads back towards the Camaro and hops into the low seat, setting the camera on the seat next to her along with her denim bag. She lifts the console lid to stash the camera but stops when she notices a small leather bound book. Bonnie lifts the book out and strokes her thumb across the branded _LP_ on the bottom corner. She unties the single piece of leather wound several times around the book leaving worn groves on the cover and spine, and opens the book. As Bonnie turns through the handwritten pages she realizes with a growing mixture of excitement and wary that this was possibly what Kai had been looking for. Flipping back to the front page of the small book she notes a small inscription branded across the back of the inside cover flap. _Lila Parker, Gemini Coven 1904._ It’s not just a journal. Bonnie thinks to herself, surprised. She runs her fingertips over the wording inside, feeling the smooth dip of each individual letter, surrounded by the slightly rougher hide. _ __It’s a grimoire.___


	3. Whiskey, Time-travel, and Kai. Oh My!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all who stumbled back! Enjoy!

**CHAPTER 3**

**_Whiskey, Time-travel, and Kai. Oh my!_ **

     Damon's starring up at the ceiling, a half empty bottle of bourbon in one hand, actively trying to avoid all thoughts that begin and end with Elena. It isn’t working. When the clock had struck twelve he’d stomped to the door and grabbed the mistletoe he’d been _fucking stupid_ enough to hang and promptly lit it on fire, watching it burn. Then the drinking had started. Why did he do this to himself? Right. Because he's a murdering dick wad who can’t help but bring pain and misery to everything he touches. Especially to the woman he loves more than anything. So much pain that she’d _erased him completely_ from her memories, basically only leaving behind exactly who Damon knew he’d always be anyways: an impulsively murdering psychopath with an unfortunate penchant for feisty brunettes that _always_ got him into trouble. Damon brings the bottle to his lips and swallows in a quick smooth motion, not spilling a drop. He grimaces slightly at the burn, and it reminds him of one of the few times he’d actually gotten Goody-Goody to partake in some of the mass quantities of free booze they’d had in 1994, in that first couple of months, before she'd come around to his way of things.

_“Bonnie. We’re stuck here. We’ve been stuck here two months, just take the bottle.” Bonnie tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at him, crossing her arms over her white lace camisole._

_“Fine,” she huffed. Then, to Damon’s utter disbelief, she reached across the table and scattered dishes that remained from dinner not long before, and upended the full bottle. Her dark silky hair slid back revealing Bonnie’s elegantly long throat flexing repetitively as she guzzled Jim Beam like it was water. After a few long seconds Bonnie set the noticeably emptier bottle down with a thud and stared Damon straight in the eye, “I’m probably going to regret that.” Bonnie's face was still twisted at the overwhelming burn when she suddenly belched once, loud and drawn out. She'd immediately clapped both hands around her mouth smothering her burst into giggles._

_“Wow, Boozey Bon Bon, and here I was ready to be impressed by your drinking skills, but it’s your control or lack thereof, of bodily functions that astound me instead.”_

_The corners of her mouth were trembling as she tried to rein in her laughter, "Shut up Damon, believe me I could take you under the table.” A blush stole up the back of her neck and threatened to overtake her face entirely, “Drink, I could_ drink _you under the table.” Then realizing that wasn’t much better pursed her lips while simultaneously sending a glare at him and slouching back in her chair._

_“Wow. The Little Witch That Could, I knew you’d finally come around.” Damon winked and lifted the whiskey again, enjoying her discomfort, until she leaned over and bumped the butt of the bottle with her finger causing alcohol to spill out over Damon._

_“You’re disgusting,” Bonnie stated as Damon stood and sputtered wetly. He stopped at that and met her eyes. Nostalgia for a different time filled his head, and he wondered if for a moment, she felt the same wistful longing._

_“I know,” he retorted, leering at her in his trademark fashion. Bonnie met his gaze with an impish look of her own, shaking her head and telling him all he needed to know. She remembered, and it wasn't all bad. Damon felt a rush of heat crawl up his chest at the smirk the little witch was directing his way, and Damon cleared his throat, mentally blaming it on the alcohol. Damon went to nonchalantly throw himself back onto his chair, bottle already rising to meet his lips. Somehow, he’d found himself on his ass, his previously occupied chair clattering across the floor, the bottle held high in one hand with only a few drops having escaped in the tumble. Damon mentally applauded himself._

_He looked up and met Bonnie’s now wide concerned, and slightly wild gaze. “What just happened?” she choked out, holding back what sounded suspiciously like another round of giggles, at his expense. Damon looked over at the toppled chair beside him and could see the now obvious. He peered around briefly and spotted what he was searching for. He grasped the splintered piece of wood and held it up from his position on the floor for Bonnie’s inspection. It took her a few moments before recognition flooded her face and she realized he’d broken the chair leg in his drunken sprawl. “I guess you didn’t know your own strength," their eyes met, hers twinkling in amusement, "but hey, you_ did _save the booze,” she observed, one eyebrow raised. They both stared at each other a minute longer than necessary, her biting her quivering plump lip, before promptly exploding into laughter._

     It's one of Damon’s better memories, dead, alive, or stuck somewhere in between. He sets the bourbon aside on his dark wooden night stand and tries to swallow down the sudden lump that's crawled up to his throat. Why did she save him? He _i_ _s disgusting._ He's so clearly deserving of less than she is and yet she had believed in him. Bonnie had believed there was hope for him and hope of getting out of there and she was part way right, there _had_ been a way to get out. There just wasn’t any hope for Damon, not if he couldn’t even save Bonnie.

     The love of his existence has chosen to erase away some of the best parts of his, hopefully their, life. His best friend had erased those memories for her, and chose his newest _fling_ over the life of the witch that brought him back to life, allowing him to even indulge in said fling. Damon sits up on the edge of his bed and lets out a frustrated sigh as he rakes his hands through his midnight hair. There has to be something he can do to free her. Bonnie's all alone in that freaky ass repeating nineties hell and she doesn’t even have the resident psychopath, Kai, to keep her company. Damon stands and begins pacing back and forth, his mind racing through all his knowledge of the Other Dimension, the Gemini Coven and how it could be useful.

 

     As the morning sunlight begins to peek over the windowsill and stream into the boarding house it finds Damon stationed at the low table in the parlor. He has an untouched glass of whiskey next to an old book with suspiciously skin-like pages and several similar looking books, plus a variety of others scattered on the desk and floor surrounding him. “Okay, time-traveling dimension specific spell or Ascendant related mojo, shouldn’t be too hard.” He mutters to himself as he slowly scans the pages of an old journal of Gloria’s, one of the many witches he’s come across in his lifetime, or death if you wanted to get technical. He has so many books and has so many loose ends out there, random acquaintances he can call and squeeze for information but he doesn’t even know _where to begin._

     Damon slams the tome shut and rubs his eyes hard, groaning softly at the sensation. He doesn’t think he’s ever heard of time travel before. He doesn’t even know if it's possible. Maybe he's approaching this wrong. The Ascendant has been the key to opening up the doorway, the portal, back home and to _that_ 1994 specifically. It had been a ghost town, definitely a different dimension of sorts. The only time Damon has traveled anywhere like that, and stayed alive, was using the Ascendant. Now that was gone, destroyed by Kai.

     Kai. God, he _hates_  that guy. He hates even more that Alaric and Jo had wanted to keep him alive. Look how that turned out. They have yet another psychopath problem in Mystic Falls. At this thought Damon looks around the familiar boarding house walls. However, they don’t have a magic prevention town barrier problem anymore apparently, thanks to that bastard. It'd been quite a while since he’d been back to Salvatore mansion and all the memories in this place had flooded right back the moment he'd stepped inside, but now they were a blend of his horror filled past and the chaotic yet somehow monotonous time in 1994. Pancakes, blood, teddy bears and bourbon swirled around and around.

     He mentally skirts away from thoughts of Elena again. His memories with her seem tainted somehow, and he doesn’t know how to fix it. He desperately wants to. Damon wishes so fervently that she’d never erased her love for him. It's just such a drastic decision to make. Could their relationship have meant so little to her after all? He has always thought of Elena, of their love, as stronger than that. She had searched for Stefan for months without ever giving up on him, on _them _.__ She had never wanted to lose any part of him. Damon just hopes they can find a way back to each other and away from the night at The Grille and everything that's happened since.

     He’s trying to move on from it all, from the isolation and the constant doubt that he's actually even here, back in the 'real' world. Ironically enough, he'd be happy just to forget this all had happened. The Other Dimension, Kai, The Gemini Coven, Alaric’s betrayal, Elena forgetting them, and- _God the list was long_. Damon thinks he’d keep Bonnie, though. She might be the one bright spot to all of this. In a strange way, Damon feels like she's the only person who can truly understand how hard all of this is for him. Adjusting back to the 'land of the living' hasn't been smooth and the one person he wishes he could talk to about it is gone. _Not dead_ he reminds himself. He has to find a way to get to her. She’s all alone. She’s stuck in that place because of him, and all because he failed her. He had failed to be there for her when she needed him most. There had to be a way to save her, and Damon was gonna find it. No matter the cost.

     A long low buzz snatches Damon from his musings. He looks up at the sound, trying to locate it as it gives out another long vibration. “Dammit cushions,” he mutters as he tosses pillows, books, and cushions aside trying to spot the missing item. Damon finally spies the phone on the floor slightly underneath the couch he’d been perched on earlier. He hurriedly bends to retrieve it and checks the screen quickly, heart picking up when he notices it's Elena.

     “Hey gorgeous, missed you last night,” he answers, mentally berating himself for not keeping his cool about last night. His mental flogging get cuts short when, instead of Elena’s spunky rebuttal or even better an apology, on the other end of the line he’s answered by a voice that makes his blood run cold.

     “Yeah I’m sorry we couldn’t stay for dinner, see Elena and I had other plans, or you could say that I had other plans for Elena,” Kai drawls into the phone, “nice touch though, the mistletoe.” Damon thinks back to last night, and the tentative knock he’d answered, sure it was her, but no one had appeared to be there. “You know,” Kai continues, “I’m standing here, looking at her, and I don’t get it.” Damon feels his heart lodge into his throat. _Not Elena too, God no._

     “Kai if yo-” he's cut off by Kai’s rambling, “I mean everybody loves Elena right? Myself? I think I prefer my women a little more _magical_.” Damon’s heart completely stops at that. “You know what I mean Damon?” Kai innocently asks. He doesn't wait for a response. “Of course you do, who are we kidding?” The amusement is evident in his voice.

     Damon’s hand clutches the phone tightly to his ear, “Cut to the chase Kai,  _what do you want?”_

     He can hear Kai’s soft chuckle and slight intake of breath before he hisses, “I want you to choose Damon,” he begins softly, as if to take away from the blow of his next words, “I can get you back to your little witch however, the price is Elena. She dies, of course. See I’m curious, I know Bonnie would save _you_ time and time again but what’s that Bennett bitch _really_ worth to you?”


	4. Terms and Conditions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone that had patience with me and stuck around to read this next chapter, and thanks for the kudos guys! I'm sorry about the delay in posting, life has been hectic. I'm officially a first time Auntie and seriously thrilled. Anyways I hope you all enjoy the update. We are going to be taking our first big step away from canon next chapter so make sure to stay tuned! Love you all! xxx
> 
> If you have any questions or just wanna hang out feel free to stop by my tumblr! insomniac1108.tumblr.com

**Chapter 4**

**_Terms and Conditions_ **

     “You know, that may have been a _tad_ harsh, Bonnie’s not a bitch,” Kai muses. “In fact, I kind of miss her.”  Damon’s hand clenches tighter to his phone. He hears a distinct crack and makes himself loosen his grip.  “It _almost_ makes me wish I’d brought her along, instead of stabbing her with my sister’s knife. Oh well,” Kai continues. Damon can practically see him now, his smug wide grin and silvery eyes gleaming manically as he postures and rambles on. “See Damon, I’m chock full of magic right now. That Traveler spell sure was _yummy._ I’m guessing it’s going to last me a while, but not forever and I _do_ have a merge to w-- You know, hold that thought.” He's greeted to silence, and then Damon can hear sudden scuffles in the back ground, several grunts and the distinct sound of Kai muttering _something_ , then nothing.

     “Kai? What’s going on over there?” Damon shouts into the phone. He can feel his head pounding. Why did this have to be happening? God, would his life ever _not_ be one series of _fucked up_ occurrences after another? “I swear to God, if you’ve done somethi—"

     Kai cuts him off once again sounding slightly out of breath, “You’ll what Damon?” he drawls into the phone, “You’ll come at me with your big bad fangs and _growl_ at me?” Kai laughs into the phone at him, “oops sorry, forgot, that’s werewolves.” Damon has never wanted to kill someone more. “Look, this is simple,” he goes on, “I know Bonnie sent you her magic. I want it or Elena dies. See? Simple.” Damon is shocked motionless. He had been pacing on the threadbare Persian rug and now has to clutch the low table he’d been working at to keep himself from crushing the tiny phone altogether.

     “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Damon began slowly, trying to surmise exactly what Kai knew. After the trip to Oregon, and the run in with the Gemini Coven patriarch Joshua Parker (which _that_ had turned out well, _not_ ) he’d stored Mrs. Cuddles in a bag in the trunk of his car. When the bear had accidentally revealed Papa Parker’s cloaking spell he’d known something was up. Only Bonnie would think a stuffed piece of cotton was her best hiding place for something as important as her magic. “How would I have Bonnie’s magic? Last I checked, she wasn’t here,” Damon snarks.

    Kai audibly scoffs into the line, “Give me a break, Damon. I know she sent her magic over in that ridiculous bear. I was there with her, remember? And whether you knew that she’d put her magic in cute widdle Mrs. Cuddles or not, you’d have saved it.” Kai laughs into the phone again, “You and the witch are close like that.” Damon’s mind is racing. He can’t give Kai the bear. It took Bonnie _so much_ to regain her magic and to just hand it over to the psychopath she’d undoubtedly risked her life trying to keep trapped in the Other Dimension? There was just no way, even if she can ignite that spark some other way. It isn't worth the risk. Especially if it's just so Kai can  _maybe_ have the strength to win his freaky ‘twin merge witchy woo-woo thingy?' No way. He’s already failed Bonnie so many times, especially by leaving her behind in that hellhole _again_ , he can’t betray her now.  She’s  _trusted_ him with it, with her magic, and for once he's going to do the right thing. But first he has to get Elena away from Kai.

     “You’re right I have the bear, but before I do anything I need to know Elena’s alive,” Damon demands. He hears Kai speak to someone away from the mouthpiece and then Elena's breathing into Damon’s ear, “Damon? Is that you?”  Damon feels relief pour through his entire body. “Elena, are you alright? I’m going to figure this out okay, just _hold on-”_  Elena’s next words come out in a jumble, fading out rapidly as the phone is snatched from her hands, “Damon! I’m at the old Lock--- ” Her voice is abruptly cut off by a sharply spat out, “ _mortem_ _torquent!”_

     A slight rustle comes through the line and Damon is greeted with Kai’s voice once more, “Sorry about that, didn’t want her giving away too much, we were just starting to have fun. Although _now_ I have to wait for her to wake back up, she’s not much fun dead. Ah, the many marvels of vampire magic,” Kai sounds slightly winded, as if killing Elena with magic had drained him. _Good_ Damon thinks grimly. A powerless Kai is definitely better than a powerful Kai. “Besides, I can’t have you trying to play misguided hero and actually attempting to rescue her or anything,” Kai goes on, “So this is it for now and hey, don’t stress I’ll find you. Oh and Damon? I suggest you go and collect a certain magic filled memento as soon as you can. I’m going to love practicing some fun spells on your girlfriend here while I wait.”

     Alaric can hear frantic pounding coming from his front apartment door. The statuesque brunette on the couch freezes with an almost empty glass raised partway to her wine stained lips. Only when he hears the familiar voice shouting frantically though the thin barrier does Alaric set the now empty take-out containers back on the small coffee table, and start towards the front door. “Ric! Open this damn door. Look I’m sorry I compelled you, I just-," Damon rushes forward as Alaric swings the door open wide and smacks into an invisible barrier that prevents him from entering the apartment. “What the --? Invite _me in_ damn it _,”_ Damon hisses at him as he clings to the door frame, body tensed to spring inside.

    “No!” A stern feminine voice emits from inside the candle lit room. “We don’t know what he’s doing here Ric, just wait a minute,” she continues, heading towards the front door to stand in front of Damon. She links hands with the sandy haired man as she sidles up next to him. Damon’s eyes flick towards the joined hands and meet the woman’s eyes with a slight sneer to communicate her silent _claim_ means nothing to him.

     “I see _your_ still around,” he says, leaning nonchalantly on the threshold, “Gosh what _was_ your name Doc? Janette? Jean? Never mind, don’t care. As I’ve been saying, I doubt you’ll last long enough for it to matter and Ric, what the hell? I’m uninvited now? That was quick.   _Rude._ ”  Alaric sputters between the intensely glaring vampire to his left and the silently fuming woman to his right before heaving a sigh and stepping back.

    Opening the door fully Ric barks, “Just get the hell inside Damon, I’m obviously going to need a drink for this.”  Damon quickly shoulders his way past the stiff woman in front of him and makes his way to the bottle on the table. He promptly brings the bottle to his lips and takes a few healthy swallows, setting it back down on the table with a slight grimace. Damon wipes the back of his mouth with his sleeve and stares the woman right in the eyes, “Bit dry for me, I prefer something with a bit more _kick_ myself." He scans her up and down briefly before continuing, “So it’s good you’re here actually, you feeling witchy Janine?" Damon inquires, "because you could say I’ve got a serious problem I’m betting you can help me with it."

     “Cut it out Damon,” Alaric interrupts, “you know her name. If you’re going to barge in here after what _you did_ and ask for a favor at least _try_ not being a total dick,” he finishes, going to sit on the worn overstuffed couch next to the rigidly perched doctor. Damon heaves a sigh and runs both hands across his head, tossing back a few wayward strands.

     “Fine _Jo,_ I’d very much appreciate your help in bringing down your psycho twin because he’s currently kidnapped Elena you know my _compelled ex-_ girlfriend,” he shoots Ric a look, which promptly causes Ric to roll his eyes, “and is _seriously_ power hungry after his 20 year sabbatical, so he needs to die.”  Damon squares his shoulders and cuts off a rising Jo, “Look,” he starts, already bracing himself for the inevitable argument, “I’m not asking for permission anymore. Kai crossed one line too many and now he needs to die.” Jo slowly sits back down, her face visibly paling and reaches for the almost empty wine bottle on the table.

     “Okay so we kill Kai, “ Joe begins slowly, much to Damon’s surprise, after setting the bottle down with shaking hands, “but we need to get Elena away from him and drain any magic he’s got left.” Jo’s steely eyes meet Damon’s and she states the next words slowly, as if to make sure he doesn’t miss anything, “if we’re going to kill Kai, we’re going to do it my way. He wants to merge. We’ll merge and I'll win. I’m tired of running from him, and I owe Liv and Luke at least that much.”


	5. The Meet Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie continues to try and find her way in 1994, and a small note left in a map guides her way. Meanwhile Damon tries to balance the responsibility of stopping Kai, repairing his unraveling relationship with Elena, and saving Bonnie from the Other Dimension.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all of you who stuck around and welcome any newcomers. A special thanks to a recent story follower, you inspired me to start writing again. Without any further ado, here you lovelies go!

**Chapter 5**

**_The Meet Up_ **

     Bonnie sits mesmerized, chewing on a piece of salt water taffy and staring at the cresting waves. She pays little notice to the faint mist spraying her face, causing the hair framing it to curl up in the damp. She's driven all day to make it to Long Beach and as she watches the sunset over the water Bonnie feels a pang in her heart and closes her eyes against the beauty in front of her. Jeremy had often talked about taking a trip here, with her. _They could just hop in her car and drive til they reached ocean,_ he'd whisper in her ear, painting the rhythm of the waves across her skin softly with his fingertips.

     Bonnie had wanted to believe so badly that it would happen one day back then, that she would escape from all the supernatural dangers of Mystic Falls with the love of her life. She had been quickly disillusioned after she'd walked in on Anna and Jeremy. Even after they'd gotten back together and she'd forgiven him, and she has, Bonnie never dreams of a life with Jeremy beyond the next day. So much has happened and she's lost so much since then, her own life included. Being here alone, she wonders if she'll ever even see Jeremy again. She hopes so.

     For now however, she's stuck here. In this godforsaken world alone. Bonnie went from being a ghost, to the anchor, to living in this hell and she's tired of it. She's tired of living in some form of limbo. She wants to live. For the first time in so long Bonnie _really wants to live._ But she can't do that here, alone. So she's seeing the ocean for the first time today, and promising to see it again someday. In 'real' life with all the people she misses desperately. Caroline and Elena, of course. If Caroline is coming Stefan's following she supposes and Matt and Tyler are a must. Alaric and Enzo are welcome to join, hell she would even invite Liv and Luke Parker, the more the merrier in her book.

     Bonnie's aware of the one person she's excluded from her group road trip musings. Even thinking Damon's name hurt. Bonnie naively believed that he would find her. That he would never have left her once he realized she was still alive. They had bonded in this hell and he wouldn't just leave her alone. But he had come with Elena to save her and somehow it had all gone wrong, of course. She had waited at first, scared to leave the Gilbert house, thinking he'd be back for her and that there must have been some mistake. Eventually, she stopped waiting.

     Bonnie knows it isn't fair to be angry with Damon. She's sure he's tried his hardest to get her back. She just can't stop the nagging in the back of her head that's increasingly getting louder, telling her that Damon has gotten what he ultimately wants and her friends know she's stuck here yet do nothing to save her. _She's sure Elena needs saving that week and God knows she can't save herself._ Bonnie immediately feels guilty as soon as the thought crosses her mind. She swallowes the melted taffy remnants in her now dry mouth and shoves the remaining pieces in the denim bag next to her, pulling out the map she'd found in the Camaro. Bonnie refuses to let herself dwell on the past. Regardless of whatever is going on with her friends, she needs to find a way back and the only person she can truly rely on is herself.

     That starts with getting her magic back. Bonnie has been more aware of the presence of magic ever since she sent what she had stored in her away in her childhood teddy bear. As if by entrusting her magic elsewhere, as opposed to it being ripped away from her, she's retained a modicum of power. Bonnie just needs to find a way to light that spark inside again. Last time it had been the adrenaline of Kai attacking Damon that had pushed her over the edge but now Bonnie feels as if she could just reach out and grab it. Thinking of taking magic bring to mind Kai's rarity.

     As much as Bonnie hates him she almost envies his ability to siphon magic as if he were some humanoid leech. _A vampire,_ she thinks wryly. She brings one hand up to stroke the wrist of the other, remembering the awful feeling of her power draining away into Kai's brutally tight grip. He had enjoyed every minute of her agony. What she wouldn't give to be able to grasp him tightly in her bare hands, suck all the magic from him and get out of this place. Just leave him behind, powerless and alone. Then he would know Bonnie's pain. Once and for all.

     Bonnie once again shakes herself from her musings and tries to focus on the worn ink of the map in front of her. Damon had marked a route to get to Nova Scotia. He had their little island from hell circled, which could have meant only one thing. He had wanted the cure. _Probably for Elena,_ Damon's self destructive yet oddly selfless in his own way. The island wasn't too far away, considering Bonnie has nothing but time, but she's still hesitant to go. The last time she had been to that place Shane had brainwashed and manipulated her. She's lost a piece of herself to that place. Bonnie isn't sure she wants to go back there and yet- giving Elena the chance to be human would be worth it. Despite everything they've been through, Bonnie loves her.

     Elena has never really spoke it aloud, but she hates being a vampire. Bonnie knows it's her relationship with Damon, and their vampire friends that keep her sane, because than she isn't alone. If there is a chance Bonnie can spare her friend the agony of forever, she has to do it. Bonnie won't live the rest of her life wondering what if. With that, Bonnie folds the map back up decisively and puts it in the front pocket of her worn bag. She'll figure out a way to get her magic back somehow, but this she can do now. Shouldering it on, she stands and begins the trek back to the car. She has a long drive ahead of her, _at least she has plenty of reading material,_ Bonnie thinks, feeling Lila Parker's grimoire bounce against the small of her back.

                                                                                    **********

     "This plan is stupid." Damon leans against the rough bark of the tall tree at his back, arms crossed to emphasize his disapproval.

     "And yet here we are in an abandoned lot, letting this _'stupid plan'_ happen, unless you've managed to come up with a better one?" Jo answers back with more bite than is her norm. She clutches both arms around her torso, unnaturally still as her eyes roam the woods just outside Mystic Falls. Jo takes in the charred remnants of the old church that used to stand in this very spot. She can understand why Kai feels drawn to pick this as a meeting point. The power of old magic fills the air around her, almost tangible. Some very strong magic had taken place and left a deep, unwavering mark on the earth here. Naturally creatures of magic would be drawn to this spot, like all of Mystic Falls really. Magic almost seems to fill the air here.

     "Look Jo, I know you can do this, but you don't have too." Alaric's low tone snaps Jo out of her thoughts and brings her focus back to the situation at hand.

     "Yes, she does," Damon retorts.

     Jo shoots a quick glare in his direction and turns towards Ric more fully, dead leaves crunching beneath her feet, "I can speak for myself," she tosses over her shoulder at the scowling vampire, "but he's not wrong," she directs more softly at Ric. "Elena is in this mess because of me. "Alaric's mouth drops open to object, his accusing stare finding Damon, "no its true." Jo interjects before he gets the chance. "Liv is right too. If I had never run away from the merge to begin with, none of this would have happened. Kai wants power, my power, and he'll stop at nothing to get it. Hurting the people I care about is at the top of his list apparently." Jo swivels around stepping close to Alaric's side but once more including Damon in the conversation, "however your antagonizing helps no one, Damon."

    The vampire in question raises his hands defensively, "Hey! I'm not the power hungry psycho with adequacy issues here. I'm just hoping he'll take the ol' bait and switch cause I've locked away Mrs. Cuddles for good. I'm not having Bon kill me for losing her magic once we get her back." At his last statement Jo and Alaric exchange looks.

     "Damon, about that, we need to tal-" Jo's next words die on her lips as her eyes shift to just behind Damon. "Kai," she announces instead.

     "Well, isn't this a surprise oh sister of mine," Kai sings out as he drags a tightly bound Elena in front of him, a wicked sharp looking stake nestles in the hollow of her ribcage, tip aimed for her heart. Elena's frantic eyes quickly pass by Damon and lock onto Alaric's. The moment Elena catches Ric's gaze her eyes fill with relief, as if she knows by his presence alone she'll be safe. Damon witnesses the tiny moment and feels it like a hot spike in the gut. Even after everything they've gone through, the sting of Elena's decision to forget them still weighs heavily on him. "Damon," Kai greets with a grin, "Ric, how's it hanging?" He nods, piercing eyes sizing the both of them up. "Now I know I invited the vampire to this little outing," he begins and lets his nose nestle into the crook of Elena's neck as he continues, "and obviously the bait had to join, but it's the lack of fur and the inclusion of blood relations," he straightens up to glare at his twin, "and various hangers on," this he directs at Alaric, "that confuse me. Care to clarify Damon?"

     Dry twigs crunch under Damon's feet as he slowly approaches Kai and a deathly still Elena. "Look, I can't give you the bear, there are various unspoken promises at work. I'm sure you understand," Damon starts, gaze locked onto Kai's.

     Kai tightens his grip around the stake and presses it into Elena's flesh drawing a pinprick of blood, "I want Bonnie's magic Damon, I thought I had made myself clear." Damon takes a few more steps forward but freezes as Kai digs the wood into Elena causing her to gasp out sharply.

     "Wait stop!" Jo yells making her presence known once again. "Kai, leave Damon and Elena out of this," she says forcefully, "I'm what you really want anyways, and I'm here. So let's do this," she finishes, squaring her shoulders.


	6. The Merge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go...

**Chapter 6**

_**The Merge** _

 

     Jo feels more than sees Kai's pleasure in the darkness of the night. She slowly steps forward, approaching Kai and a slightly whimpering Elena, "just let her go," she coaxes, "and we'll finally merge as we were meant to." Jo can now see into her twin's eyes. Their peculiar blend of blues and greens have haunted her for years. She will never have the relief of forgetting the look in them as Kai carved out her spleen those many years ago. Even now Jo feels her hands begin to shake and swallows dryly as she watches Kai begin to close the distance between them. As he grows closer Kai suddenly tosses Elena to the side, causing her to slam into the crumbling stone ruins surrounding them. He throws the stake to the side as Jo's hair swirls around her face in a gust of wind caused by Damon shooting past them in answer to Elena's piercing cry. 

     "What the hell, Parker!" Damon seethes as he struggles to sit Elena against the stone wall and untie her rope bound wrists. "I didn't need her anymore," Kai intones, eyes still stabbing into his sister. "Run along now, before I change my mind and kill her for funsies." At this he does glance over to Damon in sudden seriousness, and with unsettling clarity adds, "you know, I really don't understand you." Damon's stomach dips weirdly at the comment, as if Kai knows something he doesn't, something important. He doesn't like it. 

     "Come on Elena," he swoops her up into his arms and stands, preparing to speed away. He's done what he came to do. He put on the hero hair and saved the girl. Now it's time to get the hell out of here. He makes it just past the edge of the clearing when he hears it, "Damon stop," Elena says firmly, putting a hand to his chest. He feels the pressure of her muscles straining against his hold and another shard runs through the center of his chest as he complies with her silent request and stands her up on her own two feet. 

     "Thank you," she whispers, not meeting his gaze. Damon tells himself not to, but he never can stop when it comes to Elena. He gently reaches out and puts his hand underneath her soft chin, lifting her gaze to meet his. Elena's eyes are a soft mix of honey and deep golds, filled with unease and an underlying regret. Damon pushes her long chestnut hair behind her delicate ears and cups her face in his hands, willing her to remember _anything_. Elena's gaze goes carefully blank, yet he can feel even now her tangible unease around him. She slowly backs out of his grasp , turns and all but runs into Alaric's surprised arms. Alaric shoots Damon a look mixed with pity and regret and then brings his focus to Elena, shaking in his arms and embraces her, murmuring softly while leading her slowly away past Damon.

     "Well," Kai announces into the tense silence grinning back at his twin, "this is awkward." He dusts his hands off on his tight jeans, proceeding to crack each knuckle meticulously. "Shall we do this Sis?" he asks as he finally closes the remaining distance between them and clasps Jo's hands almost painfully in his. Jo's heart begins pounding fiercely as she returns the grip with an equal force, looking at Alaric's retreating back for a brief moment before locking into her brother's gaze and beginning a slow chant. Kai's smile widens as he tilts his head back slowly and begins to chant along with Jo. As the wind kicks up around them and the leaves swirl high, the hairs on Damon's neck stand sharply on end as magic crackles through the clearing. Jo and Kai are completely in sync now, their voices being blown away in the gusting winds. Blood begins to ooze from their tightly joined hands where their nails have begun to cut the skin, and both of their eyes snap open suddenly, entirely white. 

      _"Now!"_ Comes from someone on the opposite side of the clearing and Damon is bowled over from behind as Alaric runs by with a sawed off shotgun in his hands towards center of the clearing. Damon lifts his head off the ground just in time to see Alaric pull the trigger, releasing a resounding blast through the woods causing a ringing in Damon's sensitive ears. Kai shoots forward from the force of the buckshot to the back and topples onto Jo, taking her down with him. Blood leaks from Kai's mouth as he contorts it in a pained grimace, rolling off of Jo's still frame. 

     Damon hurriedly tries to scramble up from the forest floor and notes Jo on the ground of the clearing, while Elena appears to be nowhere in sight. In the chaos he watches Alaric run up to the man that had shouted out earlier, Luke. Luke waves a hand over a cursing Kai and flips him over onto his stomach. He tears Kai's shirt straight down the back, mumbles and with a wave of his hand the sluggishly bleeding holes in Kai's back begin to close up, healing him. _No, no, no! What're they doing?_ Damon thinks and tries to make his way over quickly through the underbrush of the woods. 

     Kai's now unconscious form is being lifted up into the air by a chanting Luke, trailing behind him as he takes off quickly into the darkness of the forest. Damon attempts to run after them, dodging rocks and skirting around gnarled roots poking out the earth, coming up onto Jo's prone body. In his peripheral Damon sees that as Alaric bends down to pick up Jo, his eyes widen and lock onto something just over Damon's shoulder. As he swiftly turns to see what's captured Alaric's attention he's greeted with the sight of Elena's wide, scared eyes. A painful prick in his shoulder causes Damon to inhale sharply and glance down at the needle sticking out of his arm. "Wha-" Damon looks back to Elena, only to see her lithe form retreating quickly and than nothing at all.

 

                                                                                       *************

 

     It's takes Bonnie the entire night to arrive in Nova Scotia. By the time she's jumping out of her small motorboat into the freezing water lapping at the shore of the island, she's more than a little exhausted. From the sun shining brilliantly off the water, Bonnie would guess it's somewhere around noon. She peels off the thick flannel she'd been using to keep warm and slowly looks around at her surroundings as she begins to tie the boat up to a nearby tree. 

     Bonnie remembers coming here years ago with Professor Shane, Jeremy and Original vampire Rebekah. She remembers how it felt to have Shane confide in her, train her, and tell her she was more powerful than could be imagined. Bonnie shakes her head now at her past foolishness. The moment she'd waken up aware that a piece of her had been taken, that Jeremy had been taken, she knew. All magic has a price and it's usually paid in blood. 

     As Bonnie makes her way further inland, she tries to reassure herself. It had been Silas, masquerading as Shane, that had stolen part of the past from her. The island was harmless. She hoped. However passing by trees and broken slabs of moss covered granite, Bonnie can feel the power saturating the island growing more and more palpable. The aura of power the island seems to possess causes the hair on her arms to raise. Bonnie swallows dryly and continues moving inland. 

     She soon finds herself surrounded by trees and brush as far as she can see. The sound of the island's wildlife fills the air and keeps her company as she trudges deeper into the forest. Over the next few hours, the power emanating from the island continues to grow. Just as she's ready to call it quits for the day, Bonnie steps out into a clearing. As she blinks, adjusting to the sunlight streaming into the small clearing, she's suddenly hit with the intense sensation of deja vu. 

    _I could actually hug you right now._ Bonnie can feel her body begin to tremble. _Where have you been?_ Beads of sweat form on her upper lip and her brow crumples, agitated. _How'd you find me?_ She's all out shaking now, and has to drop down to the forest floor to ground herself. Bonnie digs her fingers into the loose soil and grips hard, fighting past the disorientation and vertigo. Voices are echoing through her head while her mind gets over run with flashes. _Damon in the center of the clearing, staring right at her. Shane, crouching down in the leaves to meet her gaze, his hands caressing her face. Jeremy with eyes wide open, lying prone on the hard ground, unseeing._ Bonnie throws her head back and lets out a piercing wail. 

     "Stop," she begs, rocking back and forth. Bonnie's hands clutch at the sides of her pounding head and she cries out as the flashes hit again. _She's at the center of twelve witches, wind whipping violently as power courses through her veins. At the Gilbert dinner table, Caroline arguing that she's lost her mind. In the woods again,on her knees, pleading with Shane._ Her teeth grind together as she sees the circle of witches fall dead around her and feels Jeremy's death all over again. Giving in to the pain, Bonnie curls onto her side and weeps, the earth cool beneath her cheek. _Damon is walking towards her as his face fills with relief and another emotion she can't quite name. He reaches out for her, and she allows herself to fall into his embrace._ Memories still trickling in, Bonnie sighs and goes lax as she finally lets darkness overtake her.

 

                                                                                     *************

 

     A young woman screaming plays out on the surface of gleaming water contained in an antique copper basin. A small freckled hand reaches out to trail it's fingers across the surface, distorting the image. It clears to show the woman now lying still, the dead grass before her stirring with every exhale. With a wave of the hand, the image vanishes and the water becomes translucent once more. Grabbing a delicate handkerchief from the glossy tabletop, Lila Parker dries her hands and slowly grins.

 

 

 


End file.
